Asia risks overheating: IMF says

GROWTH ADJUSTMENTS:：The IMF cut its economic growth projections for Taiwan and South Korea, and raised those for the Philippines in its latest Asia-Pacific report

Bloomberg

Tue, Apr 30, 2013 - Page 15

Asian policymakers must be ready to respond “early and decisively” to overheating risks in their economies stemming from rapid credit growth and rising asset prices, the IMF said.

Growth is set to pick up gradually this year and inflation is expected to stay within central banks’ comfort zones, the Washington-based lender said in a report yesterday. Greater exchange-rate flexibility in the region would play a “useful role” in curbing overheating pressures and coping with speculative capital inflows.

Asian economic growth that the IMF estimates will be almost five times faster than advanced nations this year, and increasing investor appetite for risk have spurred capital inflows into the region. The Bank of Japan this month joined counterparts in the US and Europe in unleashing monetary stimulus, which may fuel further currency gains in developing markets, such as the Philippines, where policymakers have stepped up efforts to cool appreciation.

“Financial imbalances and rising asset prices, fueled by strong credit growth and easy financing conditions, are building in several Asian economies,” the IMF said. “Policymakers in the region face a delicate balancing act in the near term: guarding against the potential buildup of financial imbalances, while delivering appropriate support for growth.”

The IMF’s Regional Economic Outlook for Asia and Pacific echoes concerns in an April 15 World Bank report that emerging economies in the region should consider reining in monetary stimulus. Japan needs to have a credible strategy to lower debt, while China’s challenge is to unwind past credit stimulus and curb the growth of shadow banking, the IMF said.

Economies may also benefit from China’s growth momentum and Japan’s stimulus measures, it said.

China’s economy will expand 8 percent this year and 8.2 percent next year, while India’s GDP will rise 5.7 percent this year and 6.2 percent next year, the IMF projected.

The IMF expects growth of 3 percent this year and 2.8 percent next year for Taiwan, lower than its forecasts of 3.9 percent and 3.6 percent respectively in its report in October last year.

South Korea’s economy is forecast to grow 3.9 percent both this year and next year, lower than previous forecasts of 4.5 percent and 4 percent respectively, the IMF said.

The IMF predicts the Philippines will expand 6.04 percent this year and 5.5 percent next year, raising its projections by 1.2 percentage points and 0.5 percentage points respectively from October last year.

Still, the threat of external risks, such as the eurozone crisis, remains substantial, and while capital inflows can provide an impetus, they can also be disruptive, the IMF said.

“In the event of a severe global slowdown, capital flow reversals and falling external demand would exert a powerful drag on Asia’s most open economies,” including lower investment and employment in export-dependent sectors and possibly lower remittances by overseas labor, it said.

Risks within the region include disruption to trade from natural disasters or geopolitical tensions, it said. An economic slowdown in China led by sharply lower investment, and a rise in sovereign risk in Japan in the absence of a credible medium-term fiscal and growth strategy also pose threats.

In Asia, some nations must address fiscal deficits, especially where the gap is larger than before the financial crisis, the IMF said. At the same time, most governments also need to increase public spending on education and health, while food and energy subsidies in countries such as China, Indonesia and Malaysia should be eliminated and replaced by programs such as cash transfers, it said.

“To sustain high rates of per capita income growth, the policy agenda will have to vary across a range of priorities, including economic rebalancing, strengthening infrastructure investment, reforms in goods and labor markets, and meeting the challenges from rapid demographic change,” the IMF said.